1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of packet processing and, more particularly, to integrated circuits for processing packets.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computer systems and other electronic systems become increasingly networked, packet processing has become increasingly important as well. Generally, packets are used to communicate among networked computer and electronic systems. Thus, each networked system must receive and transmit packets, and must process the packets directed to that system to determine what is being transmitted to that system.
Typically, each system includes one or more interfaces on which packets are transmitted and received. Packets received on each interface (a “packet stream”) are processed within the system. If packets may be processed at multiple points in the system (or if packets may be routed through the system without additional processing within the system), a mechanism for splitting and merging packets from various packet streams to form other packet streams (and to separate packets from the streams to be processed in the system) is needed.